Nico di Angelo and the Philosopher's Stone
by MissSwissish
Summary: The Philosopher's Stone's creation is an insult to Hades. Therefore when it's safety is questioned, everyone's favourite Ghost King is sent to have it destroyed. How will Hogwarts cope with a moody demigod as a pupil?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything, etc etc... except the plot, of course!**

**Some dialogue between Potterverse characters are quoted from the book. **

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><p><strong>Nico di Angelo and the Philosopher's Stone<strong>

"Nico, I wish for you to go on a quest." Hades, Lord of the Underworld addressed his son, who was kneeling at his feet. This was unusual, the Gods seldom sent their offspring on quests in person – Chiron normally took charge of that at Camp Half-Blood, but this matter was urgent.

"My Lord?"

"There exists an object in the mortal realm that has the ability to render someone immortal – without the will of the gods. I view it's creation as an insult to me and my realm. Unfortunately, it was devised by a child of Athena blessed by Hecate, so I have grudgingly let the barb slide. Until now.  
>I have received word that the object is no longer safe, so this is the prime moment to have it destroyed. I wish for you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the object is currently located, once you find the object, bring it to me."<p>

"Yes Father."

"I am aware that you do not possess the right abilities to truly blend in at this school, so I have talked to the Lady Hecate and she has accepted to bless you with magic, temporarily. This is a gift from her."

He held up a stick for Nico to examine. Yew encasing a hair of an empousai? Nico was tempted to snort that this could give him any more powers than the ones he already had. But he respected the Goddess of Magic and he needed her permission to enter this Wizard school so he merely nodded, face blank.

"I accept this quest, Father, I will not fail."

Hades looked at his youngest son. Although he had made it clear that he preferred Bianca (he seldom had female offspring), he would grudgingly admit he was fond of the boy. He snapped out of his musings quickly, embarrassed that he had shown weakness.

"Your train leaves at 11 o'clock precisely from Kings Cross in London, you have one hour to pack."

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><p>So now Nico was trying to get some sleep after his quite strenuous journey from the Underworld to England. He didn't get why he couldn't just go directly to the school, but his father had made it clear that he would<em> not <em>reveal his identity for any reason, he would just blend in, find the object and return home. The Mist would do the rest.

The reason he was trying and not succeeding were the two other occupants of the compartment. He wasn't eavesdropping if they were careless enough to not check that he was awake. One was called Potter, Harry Potter, and seemed to be famous, though the boy himself was oblivious to it. The other was Ronald Weasley and he complained loudly about his large family. The son of Hades found this quite irritating, Ron should really consider the other people present, Potter had lost his parents and Nico didn't have any living relations either (Hades being a god didn't really count as _living_). Hearing Harry's life story was quite dull, but the name _Voldemort_ got his attention.

Lord Hades would rant about Tom Riddle for days on end, and Nico couldn't imagine what punishment his Father envisioned for him in Tartarus, but whatever it was, his dad seemed to feel that it wouldn't be enough. The man had the nerve to call himself something like Lord Death-Stealer in bad French, have followers called Death Eaters (seriously? Nico doubted that Thanatos tasted nice at all) and rip his soul to pieces to achieve immortality. To add insult to injury, one of the pieces had already arrived, but as it wasn't possible to judge a person without their complete soul, he was in limbo for the time being. Not to mention Riddle's homicidal rampage that the Underworld was _still_ recovering from (the backlog of paperwork and the queues for judgement had been catastrophic). And he didn't understand why the Weasley boy wouldn't say the name – it wasn't as if this Voldemort could do anything to them. Nico had faced far more dangerous and scary things than a mortal that wouldn't die. Sure with monsters it was different, they grew stronger, reformed quicker and you drew attention to yourself if you uttered their name, but a mortal with an overdeveloped trigger finger (assuming wands had triggers) nah, not scary.

The smell of candy roused Nico from his thoughts, he was _starving._ Deciding that he could feign sleep no longer, he consented to drop the act. Examining the other passengers, at first he thought that he was looking at an eleven year old version of Percy, with glasses and a weird lightning scar. The scar was _wrong_, like Daedalus was wrong. He stared, unblinking. But the more he stared the less the boy looked like his old friend, the eyes were the wrong shade, the jaw line, nose and mouth were all different. The other kid was the same age, with pale skin, freckles, a mop of ginger hair and dirt on his nose.

"Hello." The black haired boy said, and Nico recognised the voice as Harry Potter.

"Hello." Nico replied, unwilling to say more.

"I'm Harry" The boy tried again, his companion was eyeing him with a scared expression. "What's your name?"

He didn't really feeling like telling them much about himself, but if he was going to make friends and _blend in_ then...

"Nico di Angelo"

"You want some sweets?" Nico blinked. Not many people could stand to be around him too long because he constantly oozed death, but this boy was going out of his way to talk and be nice.

"Sure"

These two seemed ok, they shared the food despite the fact that Nico didn't pay or trade to make up for their generosity. He did have money, some drachmas, and he did have food. Nico smirked inwardly, the nectar and the ambrosia that he had stashed in his rucksack might smell delicious, but the side effects for mortals were_ unpleasant _to say the least.

He brooded a bit when the two kids started chatting about Collectors cards in the frogs; it was too close to Mythomagic and Bianca's death for comfort. The Beans were quite entertaining, especially when the other two thought that the flavours were random. Nico got Pomegranate, Cereal, Dirt, Pasta, Cereal, Dandelion Cordial and a McDonald's Happy Meal.

It took a lot of Nico's self control not to laugh as the Weasley kid recited a poem worthy of Apollo when he tried to turn his rat yellow. The girl who was watching reminded Nico of Annabeth, but he doubted that Hermione could knife monsters while explaining the architectural wonders of the Sidney Opera House. She was looking for a toad that some boy had lost. Nico was tempted to call Percy and see if he could talk to the animal; the constant interruptions were getting annoying. The conversation moved swiftly on to Houses with the departure of Granger.

"What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked Ron

"Gryffindor" Ron replied gloomily. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"And you?" Harry turned to Nico. He was actually thirteen, not eleven, but the Mist had sorted it so that there wouldn't be any questions asked. Nico wasn't thrilled by this, but he didn't know any magic so starting at the beginning would be good.

"What are the choices?" Nico hedged.

"Gryffindor are brave, Ravenclaw are brainy, Hufflepuff are loyal, and Slytherin are evil." Ron explained. Nico raised his eyebrows at the names, but decided against questioning them. Any powerful witch or wizard was a potential child of Hecate, so best not insult them.

"The definition of entering Slytherin house is that you have to be evil." Nico repeated slowly, clearly not buying it.

"Well, all the dark witches and wizards were in that house, and they have this notion that they're better that everyone because they come from all-wizard families."

"Well that's just plain stupid." Nico snorted

"But really they're all cunning and manipulative." Ron finished.

Nico didn't honestly know which house he'd get. His worst nightmare would be that he wouldn't get sorted. He wasn't the type to conform to peoples classifications. He hated being categorised. The conversation moved on without him as he pondered just where he fit in. Camp had become much friendlier now that he had his own cabin and Hades and the minor gods were respected. Hestia had a cabin too, but that, along with Hera and Artemis' cabin, remained empty. But still, few people were actually friends with him. He was often absent, spending time in the Underworld. Being Hades' heir was a demanding occupation, he had to track ghosts and send them back to be punished for escaping, overlook Daedalus' construction work... His father had promised him that he would allow him to visit his mother in Elysium one day. Nico was desperate to see her, but she would not come when he called and he was forbidden to look for her in the Underworld.

The other two were now discussing something called Quidditch, the main wizarding sport, which, much to Nico's horror, was played on flying brooms. Zeus would most likely electrocute him for even thinking of trespassing on his realm.

They were interrupted _again, _this time by two thugs who could have passed for sons of Ares had they not been so fat, and a mean looking blond who looked a bit like a weasel.

"Is it true?" he said, not sparing Nico or Ron a glance, "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you is it?"

"Yes" Harry replied, eyeing the two bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." The pale boy introduced them carelessly. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron snorted, which made the pale boy notice the other passengers at last.

"Think my name's funny do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford." Before Ron could retort he turned back to Harry, but was loosely addressing Nico as well.

"You'll soon find that some wizarding families are much better than others Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand, waiting for either of the two boys to take it. As if they would.

"Say's who?" Asked Nico with a bored voice.

"What?" asked Draco, eyes cold

"Who says which families are the better ones? Bit presumptuous and bigheaded of you to assume that _your_ family is worth more than his"

"Are you calling me big headed?" Draco asked, his eyes dangerous. Nico wasn't even looking at him; he was staring out of the window.

"Yes."

"I'd be careful if I were you. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as Potter's parents...

"If you mean I'll die, of course I will, everyone will," Nico interrupted carelessly, before turning to Draco with his full Son of Hades Death Stare, "But I'd watch who you're threatening, you're not the only one with powerful relatives."

As if to accentuate the point, there was a rumble of thunder that was almost deafening. Nico turned back to the window, satisfied that his point had been made. The two thugs lumbered forward to teach the impertinent kid a lesson, but Nico, contrary to all appearances, had been watching them like a hawk, using the reflection in the window. He punched the first one in the gut (he couldn't remember their names and besides they both looked the same) and the other gave a yell without Nico even touching him. Ron's pet rat had latched on and the kid was yelling in pain. Nico was laughing, he'd faced far worse than a rat bite, but this thug looked as if he were going to run back to mummy. The three disappeared and Nico sat down again, face smug, knowing that they wouldn't come back in a hurry.

The other two were looking at him in awe, but before they could say anything, the door opened again.

"What has been going on?" It was the Granger girl. Ron ignored her, more concerned about his rat than bothering to explain. Nico wasn't in the mood to be lectured by this mini-Annabeth, so didn't reply either. Harry began explaining about Malfoy, and the more Nico heard, the more he disliked the weasel face. Hermione asked about the fighting. Nico was surprised that Ron didn't rat him out, but he was grateful for that. He was right about the lecture, she almost gave them one without proof that any of them had actually been fighting. She left while telling them to get changed.

Nico was worried, he didn't have time to buy any books, material or robes before leaving and wondered absently if he could sneak away by shadow travel to buy robes and back before he was reported missing. Still, he rummaged in his bag for show, and was surprised to find that it was full of everything he needed, even a jar of green flames so he could sacrifice food to the gods. Putting on the robes wasn't really necessary for Nico, he was wearing his trademark black T-shirt and ripped jeans. Now he had them on, he looked like a boy Dracula that the mortals made horror movies about. The train slowed to a halt and they disembarked. A giant started yelling for the first years to come forward. Nico eyed the man apprehensively. Giants weren't normally friendly, especially when they smelled half-bloods. He gripped his sword which he'd concealed in his robes, waiting for the thing to attack.

He didn't. In fact, this was Hagrid, the man that Harry had mentioned on the train. Nico wasn't convinced that he was entirely harmless; he even had a baby hellhound, but if he was the guide to the school, then so be it. Descending the stairs towards the lake, Nico got a sinking feeling that he would have to cross the vast expanse of water to get to the school. Why didn't he follow the older kids? He should have known that first years would have "special" treatment. In his case he would probably be drowned before he even made it to the castle.

Nico was tempted to refuse point blank to enter a boat. He quickly dropped a drachma into the water as an offering to Poseidon for safe passage and prayed that the Sea God would listen. He hoped that Percy was visiting, that way he'd be even less likely to get drowned. As it was, a merman came up and escorted his boat across. Once they had reached the underground harbour, the merman sort of saluted, but in a way that made it clear that further crossings would not be granted so easily. The other kids were staring at him, but Nico was used to it. He was too relieved that he'd survived to really care what the others thought.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised his fist and knocked on the castle door.

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><p><strong>So did you like it? Hate it? I've almost finished writing and I was considering doing the next book, if this story proves popular of course.<strong>

**Or I could skip directly to Voldemort's return in the fourth...**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(I should have said before, The Lost Hero hasn't happened yet.)**

**Nine reviews! Normally it takes _weeks_ to get this much interest! I'm so flattered by all your comments, especially on the way I write, you guys are amazing!**

**Cookie05, LizaCobbler and obsessivegirl73: Thank you so much!**

**Peridot15: argh, please don't cry, _No way_ is this a oneshot! my draft stands at 13k+, but needs _serious_ editing**

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**and a thanks to the anon reviews and the people who put this on alert, its great to know what people think.**

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><p>The door swung open and a tall, black haired woman in green robes looked down at them. She looked as stern as the goddess Athena, and Nico knew that crossing this woman would be a very foolish thing to do.<p>

"The first years, Professor McGonagall" Hagrid said. He didn't really need to introduce them, it was perfectly obvious who they were.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here."

They proceeded to an antechamber where the witch explained about the houses. Nico was fairly convinced that he wouldn't feel at home here, just like Camp had never really appealed to him. He was too solitary. The house points were made to be a really big deal, but he couldn't bring himself to care about a petty school championship. The mention of a test for the Sorting had Nico groaning. He wasn't nervous, though most of the others were, but being treated like a lab rat in front of the whole school didn't have much appeal.

Nico looked up when he heard screams. Turning around he saw twenty or so ghosts coming through the wall, they ignored the students and seemed to be arguing amongst each other about a Poltergeist. He wondered how so many had escaped the Underworld, and considered sending them to the judges immediately. But doing so would blow his cover, he had to remain inconspicuous. Nico hadn't seen spectres so well intergrated in the mortal realm. The shades in America only spoke to_ him_, and most of the time he got mobbed with their constant moaning. These phantoms seemed _civilised. _Side effect of living with mortals? Or being wizards?

The ghosts had finally noticed them, and the monk was looking at them kindly when one of the pearly white figures gasped. He went pale (for a ghost) and pointed a shaking finger at Nico. To the ghost's undying shame, while he quivered, his head wobbled, and very nearly fell off. Nico raised an eyebrow, while the students made room for him.

"Sir Nicholas, isn't it? What are you doing here?" He made the tone of his voice an accusation and a threat simultaneously. So much for blending in.

"My Lord, I'm...sorry, I meant to..."

"Return? It's a bit late for apologises now, your entire family is waiting for you in Elysium, yet you waste your afterlife here." Nico was quite annoyed that he'd only been at the school two minutes and he'd already managed to make himself a freak. His father had told him about a few runaways, this one was easy to recognise, the "Nearly Headless" part was unmistakable.

"Am I not allowed a second chance, sir?" the ghost pleaded.

"We shall see." Nico replied cryptically. Despite being the Ghost King, he couldn't promise anything. He had divine authority over Hades' realm and subjects, yes, but the ghost's punishment was for the judges and his father to decide.

The phantom understood that this was the end of the discussion, but still looked shaken. The other ghosts bowed to Nico, who waved them off irritably. None of the other students spoke. It was just as well, because Nico was now in a very foul mood.

The Professor had heard the end of the discussion and was examining him with her sharp eyes. Nico held her gaze defiantly, forcing her to look away first.

They entered the Great Hall and were the subject of stares from the entire school. The ghosts still bowed to the Son of Hades as he walked past. He wondered absently if the fish behaved like this to Percy, and whether this explained why he was uncomfortable in aquariums. The hall was grand enough, in Nico's view. It wasn't like Olympus or his father's palace, but it had a certain charm. The ceiling was quite impressive, and would allow Nico to check on the gods' mood. There were whispers about Harry Potter, and some of the students were theorising that the ghosts were bowing to him, not Nico. This lightened the demigod's mood a bit, the less he stood out, the better he would progress on this quest, and he wasn't comfortable being the centre of attention. They had reached the front, and Professor McGonagall had placed a hat on top of a four legged stool. Nico wondered about the rabbit out of the hat trick, but then this was a school for those blessed by Hecate, lame conjuring tricks were beneath her.

Suddenly the hat began to sing.

The song about the houses didn't enlighten Nico further about which House he'd be in. Hades, though harsh, was always just and fair, Nico was a hero, so he was brave and daring. Then again he was also smart...and cunning. Would he use _any_ means to get what he wanted? He had planned to kill to have his sister returned.

"DI ANGELO, NICO!"

He went to sit on the stool, and felt the hat on his head.

"Well this it unexpected... A son of Hades has never graced our presence before, yes I know of the Greek Gods, but don't worry; your secret is safe...hmm, where to put you...dear me you have been through a lot..." Nico was angry at the hat's tone and immediately tried to block it from seeing his mind. The hat yelped in pain.

"Apologises, but I must sort you into the house which is most fitting..."

"I don't care, anywhere will do!" Nico snarled mentally. The hat dithered and Nico was losing his patience. This sorting was taking by far the longest and the students were beginning to mutter.

"SLYTHERIN" The hat yelled suddenly, taking Nico by surprise. He had hoped to be in Gryffindor, as a hero would be, but he guessed that his family's undeserved rep had, once again, made him be classed as evil.

The table didn't cheer like they had for the others and he sent them his best death glare so they knew not to mess with him. He thought he saw Potter and Weasley look upset at the hat's choice and he felt a bit better. _They_ obviously didn't think he was a bad person.

They ended up in Gryffindor, and Nico was stuck with Weasel face. He was tempted to just call him that, instead of_ Malfoy,_ or _Draco _but, unlike him, the pale brat looked like he belonged, and Nico wasn't stupid enough to attack him when he was surrounded by his friends. He reconsidered his nickname, it had just occurred to him that _Weasel_ face and Ron _Weasley_ might cause confusion about who the barb was intended for. Rat face would also work, but Nico felt that that could be seen as an insult to Scabbers. He wondered what sort of parents named their son after the _drakon_. There wasn't much likeness, from what Nico could see, this boy was yellow through and through.

Nico looked up at the teachers. He noticed that his gut twisted when he looked at the teacher in the purple turban, similar to when he had finally met Daedalus, and like the way he felt when he looked at Harry's scar. It was something that should be dead, but wasn't. The one next to him was glaring at Harry with his face filled with hate. Professor McGonagall was staring at him along with Dumbledore.

He ignored them as best he could as he filled his plate with everything he could reach. The sweets hadn't truly sated his hunger, not to mention he had to offer a portion in sacrifice. He thanked the gods that he'd remembered to tuck the bottle of flames into his robes as he whispered his father's name, dropping his offering into the jar to be burnt. The other kids were staring again, and Malfoy curled his lip into a sneer. Just then, a timid ghost approached Nico, who sighed and told the entity to get lost before it could speak. It bowed reverently and departed. The rest of dinner went without incident, but his new "family" never spoke to him. He perked up when he learnt that the Forbidden Forest and the third floor were out of bounds, the Forest could be a place that he could meet up with Percy or Thalia or Annabeth...and the third floor, prime spot for the mystery object to be hidden. His Dad hadn't been kidding about security; the third floor of a school didn't strike him as a very secure location.

At the end of the feast they made their way to the dormitory, going downstairs to the dungeons. Nico was quite happy with the common room, very green and most importantly, dark, just like his cabin. Shadow travelling would be easy in this part of the castle. Not that Nico tried it, he fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

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><p>Nico's first morning was eventful; he had just finished throwing one of his eggs and a slice of bacon into the jar when an Iris Message popped up across the table from him.<p>

"Hey Death Boy!" Percy said by way of greeting. He looked exhausted, and Nico realised with a pang that it was the middle of the night back home; Percy had stayed up late so that he could catch him before lessons. Malfoy looked around and his eyes widened at the shimmering screen. It had caught the attention of several other pupils, but they paid him no mind. Obviously in a school of magic, weird was considered normal.

"Hello, Seaweed Brain" Nico replied, amused. He knew that the blond was listening in, but if the conversation got risky, he would start speaking Ancient Greek. See how Draco would take _that_

"I heard about you going to this school in England? What's it like?"

"How'd you...Oh, right, the merman."

"Yeah, Dad was quite annoyed at you for that, Nico! You know he'd capsize you for intruding!"

"I gave him a drachma!" Nico protested

"That's the point! You give the same fare to Charon when you die! Dad felt he was a bit more important than some lowly ferryman. But he also knew we owed you one for last year so he let it go, Oh and Rachel's angry you didn't consult her before leaving. Man, that girl can be scary!"

"..."

"Anyway, you ok?"

"I not a child! You don't need to check on me!" Nico relented and added "yeah it's cool, we've got Astronomy every Wednesday, which I'm totally gonna ace..."

"You'd better, or Annabeth'll have your head" Nico laughed at that.

"Tell her I said hey."

"Sure" there was an awkward pause, Nico didn't have much to say and Percy was too tired to make small talk. "Well... I gotta go, English test tomorrow, and I haven't read the book. See you for the Winter Solstice!"

Percy broke the connection, yawning, and Nico was left with the stares of his fellow pupils once again. He could hear the word _traitor_ being hissed, but couldn't understand why. He ate the rest of his food in silence, brooding. The IM probably caused more harm than good, but the likelihood of Nico integrating into the Slytherin (or even Hogwarts) community had been slim from the start. This_ blending in_ was proving harder than he anticipated, something about him just meant he stuck out like a sore thumb all the time. He pondered whether he should contact Rachel and ask for a prophecy, but then thought against it. He didn't know how easy it would be to find a rainbow _and_ be alone in this place. Besides, he would go see her at Christmas and ask then, if he needed to.

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><p>He met Peeves the poltergeist not long after that, on his way to his first lesson. He was harassing Ron and Harry, the Granger girl was there too, but the boys seemed to be the prime target.<p>

"What is the meaning of this, Peeves!" Nico yelled, causing almost everyone in the vicinity to turn and watch the small (but a bit older than) eleven year old take on the resident ghoul. Nico wasn't sure why he was interfering; it wasn't as if he knew the other two very well. He was just in a bad mood from all the staring and whispers.

"Oooh, my Lord, please forgive ickle Peevsie, he was just having fun with the little first years, he didn't mean no harm..."

"I should send you directly to the Fields" Nico mused and was satisfied by the pesky ghost's reaction

"Nooooo! Please my dear boy, I'll be good, I'll be nice, don't send me back there! Please!"

"Be nice to my friends and I'll consider it" Nico bargained, "But if I hear_ anything_..."

"No, no you won't your highness, not a peep from dear old Peevsie..."

"Then get out of my sight" Nico ordered, and Peeves vanished.

There was utter silence in the antechamber. Nico gave his best Son of Hades Glare to everyone present and the students began to move on, leaving just him, Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked, she sounded afraid.

"Ghost Whisperer" Nico stated, bored. Technically he was _king_, but pompous wasn't the look he was going for.

"That was bloody brilliant! Ron said, earning him a thin smile from the dark haired Slytherin.

"Tell me if he gets too troublesome, won't you? I hate poltergeists." They gave ghosts a bad name, honestly, people wouldn't be so scared of the dead if the some spectres just accepted they had passed on and didn't try to share their suffering.

"You can't just order ghosts around, they're dead!" Hermione protested. She was still looking at Nico as if he'd sprouted fangs and horns

"It runs in the family." Nico deadpanned, and nodding to Harry, made to leave.

"Wait!" Harry called. Nico turned, raising an eyebrow.

"So, friends?" Harry asked.

"Don't get on my bad side," Nico warned before giving an impish grin "But yeah, friends."

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><p>The week went on, and the students began to get accustomed to Nico's peculiarities. They still avoided him like the plague, but the staring had stopped. Nico normally turned to the ghosts for help, so the other pupils didn't feel bad about leaving him alone. Malfoy would still try and find ways of insulting him, but Nico always came up with excellent put downs that made the younger boy look like a fool. Added to that, Peeves seemed to view himself as Nico's avenger, and would make life a misery for anyone who spoke ill of his charge, so Malfoy was constantly being harassed. Nico, being Hades' son, refused to call him off because of Malfoy had tried to steal his bottle of green flames. To add to his mood, Nico hadn't had time to truly search for the object that his father had sent him to find, as the teachers gave them such a mountain of homework and always kept sharp eyes on them "to make sure they never got lost". Nico huffed. Harry and Ron'd still managed it on their way to Transfiguration.<p>

He received an invite to go to Hagrid's on Friday with Harry and was pleased that he had found a someone who didn't care that he was in Slytherin. He was also interested in the scar on Harry's forehead, as it transpired that he'd got it when the curse that should have killed him rebounded, killing Voldemort. Nico wasn't satisfied that this was the whole story, but it did sort of make sense. Harry should have died, so now he felt wrong to Nico in the sense that he was still living. What got under Nico's skin was the fact that Harry himself wasn't the problem, it was the scar, nothing more.

Charms and Astronomy were the only lessons that Nico felt comfortable taking. Quirrell still repulsed him, Transfiguration reminded him too much of the time he was turned into a dandelion by his step-mum, Herbology made him wish that he wasn't on such bad terms with Demeter, and a History of Magic was so mind numbingly dull that Nico was sure that the teacher was a child of Morpheus, god of sleep. They were going to learn about Greek magicians only in third year, for now they were stuck looking at Norse warlocks.

But by far the worst was Potions.

The Potions Master started by quizzing Potter on things that Nico (and most of the class) had no clue about, although the Granger girl seemed very eager to show off her knowledge.

By the third question, Nico had had enough.

"Look, we came here to learn this stuff, what would be the point of teaching us if we knew it all already?"

The hooked nosed teacher spun around. His eyes widened when he saw that one of his own pupils was talking back to him.

"Detention, Mr di Angelo."

Nico didn't reply, but gave the teacher his trademark glare, holding eye contact until the teacher was forced to look away. Snape, clearly perturbed by the student's gaze, turned back to Potter, but, it was noticed, didn't interrogate him with such heat.

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><p>Nico shadow travelled out of the dungeons after Snape had fixed his detention. He had it light, just cleaning and sorting out the store cupboard. In a way, the detention was useful, it gave him an excuse to be out of bed late, and he could easily get to the third floor with the cover of darkness. He was glad that he could move around so freely, he'd heard Hermione say that apparating (shadow travel without shadows – wizards only) wasn't possible within Hogwarts. Nico hadn't considered that shadow travel would be impossible, he'd only found out later. Besides, shadow travel worked wherever there were shadows, he had seen no reason why Hogwarts would have shadows any different from normal ones. Then again, he hadn't tried to travel from inside the castle to outside the school boundaries yet; but his quest was here, he didn't need to.<p>

He walked out of the forest where he had appeared just in time to see Harry knock on Hagrid's door. He heard the baby hellhound growl while Hagrid tried to subdue it. Once the door was open, the dog took one look at Nico and went as docile as a puppy (which it _was_, despite its size). Nico petted it as it whined affectionately. The other three raised their eyebrows at him, but Nico just smirked.

"Hagrid, this is Ron... and Nico"

Hagrid looked surprised that Harry would be friends with a Slytherin, and impressed but slightly worried when they recounted what he had done to Peeves. The topic moved swiftly on to the Potions lesson, and the two Gryffindors complained half-heartedly about favouritism as he told them what he got as a detention. Nico couldn't really argue, from that one lesson it was clear that Snape was about as biased as old man Tmolus judging the music contest between Pan and Apollo (an Olympian versus God of the wild? who'd _you_ want as a mortal enemy?) Then they discussed the break in at Gringotts _again_, and Nico noticed the way Hagrid looked unsettled about this topic. He found out later from Harry that Hagrid had emptied a vault that same day as the break in, saying that the contents would be safer at Hogwarts. That made the grubby package that Harry had seen was now the prime suspect in his quest. He felt slightly cheated that what he sought couldn't be _a bit_ more impressive.

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><p><strong>Well I hope it lived up to expectations, I'm really thrilled by the response this is getting, but i'm kinda even more nervous...<strong>

**Don't hate me too much for putting him in Slytherin, the way I think about it, Nico's powers would be construed as "dark magic" at Hogwarts, no matter how heroically he used them.**

**please please keep the reviews coming in!**

**Swiss**

**ps yellow is a colour associated with cowardness**


	3. Chapter 3

**I woke up this morning to see loads of emails telling me people have put this on alert and stuff.**

**deep breath:**

**OMG, YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY AWESOME!**

**Thank you to ****GinjaNinja01, ****I am the son of Lord Zeus,**** emostrawberry, ****Peridot15,**** obsessivegirl73, ****MysteriousWish, ****azk099, ****Cookie05, ****yarra, ****Peppymint, ****superawesomejennifer-thatme, ****Dragonsareawesome, and ****Konekoko ****for your reviews,**

**I've put replies at the bottom of the page**

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><p>Nico was breaking out in cold sweat. Today was the day he'd been dreading. There was no way he'd be able to back out of this.<p>

_Flying lessons_, and being a Slytherin meant that Draco would be there. He'd tried to steal Nico's bottle of flames again that morning, but luckily McGonagall had stopped him. It was just what he'd always wanted, to get knocked out of the sky in front of that Weasel face. The weather outside was a stormy grey, almost as if the god of the sky were daring him to try and defy him. He spotted a young girl tending the fire in the Great Hall and went over to her. She was, as he suspected, the Lady Hestia.

"He's not going to let me fly, is he." Nico stated glumly. The maiden looked up at him.

"Feelings between the gods have been strained of late, especially since you have been blessed. You would do well to not try his temper."

Nico inclined his head, and left the young girl to tend the flames. When he turned back, the goddess had vanished.

The lesson didn't go at all how Nico expected. He admired the way that Harry had snatched the Remembrall from the dive, he was really rather envious. Once he'd been escorted away by McGonagall, Madam Hooch then proceeded to try and get each of them to hover for a few seconds. Nico was last, but he needn't have worried about Zeus' wrath, the broom wouldn't fly for him. As soon as he gave it to the teacher, she immediately zoomed off behind the ramparts and back. After trying several other brooms, Madam Hooch thought that Nico was pranking her, so made him get on her broom, which hovered patiently about a metre from the ground. He stepped up to her, face flushed with embarrassment. The class were laughing at him; even Ron was trying to hide a smirk. Feeling like he had just signed his death sentence, Nico prepared himself to mount the broom. The moment he did, it crashed to the floor, followed by a menacing clap of thunder.

"Okay! I know, I'm sorry! No flying, I won't try again!" Nico screamed at the heavens. Another thunderclap answered him.

"Touchy" Nico muttered, before a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. Ignoring the other kids' screams, he turned and sprinted towards the castle.

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><p>He collapsed on his bed in the dormitory. That was too close. He sacrificed some of his dinner that night to Zeus as well as his father, in order to appease the enraged god who was still thundering outside, all the while debating whether he should just try and get to the third floor, find the object and leave. He knew that it would be protected by magic, but the spells he was learning just weren't going to be powerful enough to break the enchantments around it. Malfoy had tried to tease him about what had happened, and that quickly became the first time Nico had come close to killing a mortal. He still got kicks remembering Malfoy's face as he looked at the Stygian Iron blade. He was <em>sure<em> that the other boy had wet himself.

He'd made up his mind, and that night he went out to the third floor to examine just what was behind that door. It was locked, of course, and he couldn't shadow travel in, which he found curious.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

He heard the sound of footsteps, sprinting towards him. Something collided with him and he looked up to see Harry pushing desperately on the door.

"It's locked; I've been trying to get in all night." Nico told him. Then he winced, realising he'd slipped up. Luckily they were too disorientated to realise that this was the out-of-bounds corridor. Nico hoped it stayed that way.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione took charge and opened the door with magic. They hurried inside. Peeves wouldn't be a problem while Nico was around, but Filch would have heard the poltergeist from a million miles away.

What they found behind the door shocked Nico more than anything he'd encountered so far. A three headed dog, just like Cerberus, was standing, glaring at them. It growled menacingly. The others were of course very frightened, and Nico didn't bother to calm the enraged animal down. He'd noticed that it was standing on a trap door. The group left hurriedly, but Nico was grinning like a maniac. _That _was what was guarding the object? It was too risky to go back that night but this was_ too_ easy...

Arriving at the door at midnight less than 24 hours later, he pulled out a small recorder that he'd *ahem* _borrowed_ from Hagrid, and began to play. (Knowing how to get past Cerberus when he was in a temper was kind of in the job description, being Hades' son and all). Edging into the room, he closed the door firmly behind him. He really was a terrible flutist, but the dog heads drooped sleepily. Nico continued playing as he willed the shadows to move the giant lump away from the trapdoor. Hefting it open the same way, Nico made sure that it would close after him – no need to let the wizards know he'd been – and jumped.

He landed on something soft and plant like. He wriggled about a bit and was alarmed to feel the plant wrap itself around him, pinning him down. He could no longer use his arms, so he couldn't cut himself free. He couldn't see a way out, despite his good eyesight. He felt the plant wrap feelers around his throat and he tried one last ditched attempt to shadow travel.

With a mental _thank you_ to the gods, he felt himself melt into the blackness and reappear in the Slytherin Dormitory. Malfoy was missing. Nico hoped that wherever he was, he'd been caught by Filch. Too tired from the exertion, Nico let himself fall into a peaceful slumber. He'd check his injuries tomorrow.

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><p>The next month or so was a blur. He was excused from the flying lessons, much to Malfoy's annoyance. Stupid brat probably wanted to see if Nico would <em>actually get <em>struck by lightning, instead of the near miss. He didn't tease Nico too much; the threat of a very nasty death was still looming on his conscience.

Nico spent almost every other night for two weeks trying to get past the plant below the three headed dog. They were quite good friends, the dog even understood that Nico wanted to get to the trapdoor and went out of it's way to move for him. He learnt that he couldn't shadow travel in, but he could leave whenever he wanted, which was lucky, as the plant was causing him a lot of problems. He couldn't hack it into submission; it grew back after every night. He had taken his bottle of flames to see if there was a tunnel leading away, that way he'd know where to struggle towards. Nothing. He'd gotten strangled and bruised so much that he'd run out of ambrosia and had to ask Annabeth to send some along. (Being a daughter of Athena meant she should be good with owls. Right?) He tried contacting Demeter and some of her kids, but he couldn't explain much without someone getting curious. The rest of the time was spent researching, but that didn't turn up the goods either.

It was Halloween and at last something had happened to take Nico's mind off his failure to tame the plant.

Quirrell sprinted down the Hall towards the teachers screaming:

"Troll! In the dungeon! Though you ought to know" then he fainted. Suddenly the entire room was in panic. Nico rolled his eyes. A troll wasn't _that_ scary. After Dumbledore had calmed everyone down, the students were sent to their dormitories. No one saw Nico as he slipped away, they were too busy running for the common rooms.

This was the break he'd been looking for. He needed to unwind a bit; his conundrum with his search was making him uptight and snappy. Killing a monster would be a good way to loosen up.

The troll wasn't that hard to find, the smell was warning enough. He hurried to find Ron and Harry battling the troll. Harry was currently hanging on to the troll's neck while Ron was levitating its club above its head. Nico heard the crunch as the club fell, but the creature was just stunned. He knew that he couldn't let his sword render the monster to dust, but that didn't mean to say that it couldn't work as a normal blade. Harry had jumped clear by now, allowing Nico the chance to step forward. Much to Nico's disappointment, the creature didn't offer much resistance. A few slashes and a stab to the gut and the monster was toast.

"Is it dead?" Hermione asked shakily

Nico rolled his eyes "What else did you expect me to do, let it eat you?" before turning to Ron to thank him for stunning it.

Harry pulled his wand out of the troll's nostril, much to Nico's amusement (what was the point in that? give the troll influenza?). Suddenly they were interrupted by the teachers. Nico quickly hid the sword, and the others raised their eyebrows at him.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" McGonagall was furious "You were lucky you weren't killed, why aren't you in your dormitories?" she glared at each of them in turn. Snape was eyeing Nico as if he couldn't believe that a Slytherin would be caught dead in the presence of a Gryffindor. Nico glared at him, raising an eyebrow when he noticed the teacher's leg had been bitten. Interesting. Snape flushed and tried to cover the wound.

Then, much to Nico's amazement, Hermione took the blame. She left out Nico's sword, instead implying that he had been trying to reach her when Ron had killed it with its own club. It didn't really stand up to scrutiny, but seeing as the Troll had landed on its front, the major wounds were covered.

Dumbledore had been examining Nico di Angelo curiously. The boy's appearance fluctuated, some days he'd look no more than eleven, others he looked like he was at least two years older. The Sorting Hat wouldn't reveal much, only that he'd been extraordinarily difficult to place, more so than Harry. The ghosts all said that they had sworn an unbreakable oath not to reveal the child's secret and the mermen would only say that he was not welcome near the lake. He had seen the boy's sword, but hadn't let on. This was one curious student.

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><p>It was finally time for the first Quidditch game of the season, and Nico was excited to see his friend play. He wished he'd been placed in Gryffindor and wondered if the Headmaster would allow him to change next year. Then he remembered that there wouldn't <em>be<em> a next year and began to get very depressed. He frowned when he noticed that Harry's broom was acting odd. He wondered if Zeus would allow someone to interfere with his domain, but then he realised that Zeus probably only cared when it was Nico or Percy trying to fly. He was looking forward to seeing his cousin again, he'd IM'd him as soon as he could to recount on the Troll business. Percy seemed worried that the monsters had found him, but Nico was confident that Hogwarts' borders were too strong for that and that someone had let the troll in on purpose. He quizzed Annabeth on the plant, but she didn't have a clue. He resolved to talk to Granger about it, she'd been nice to him recently (well he _had_ saved her life) and if he didn't give away too many details, she wouldn't know why he needed the information...

Suddenly there was an uproar and Nico looked around to see that the game had ended, Harry standing triumphant. He smirked as their eyes met. Pushing past his classmates, Nico noticed that there had been a fire in one of the stands. He met up with the trio at Hagrid's, to congratulate Harry for one of the most original ways of ending a Quidditch game ever. The Trio were convinced that Snape had cursed Harry's broom, something that Nico wouldn't put past him. Then the topic took an unexpected turn...

"How'd you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked,

"Fluffy?" Nico couldn't think of a funnier name for the dog on the third floor. Sure, it was sweet once you got to know it, but it was still a Rottweiler, not remotely "fluffy"

"Yeah, he's mine, I bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub last year I leant him to Dumbledore to guard the..."

"Yes?" asked Harry eagerly

"Now, don't ask me any more, that's top secret that is."

Greek chappie? That sounded a lot like Geryon or Eurytion from the Triple G Ranch. That was bad, there could be other Greek monsters down there, much worse than Fluffy. But Nico didn't have a chance to ask; the topic had moved onto Snape and how the Trio thought that he wanted to steal the package. Nico filed that information away for future reference, along with the name Nicholas Flamel.

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><p>It was nearing Christmas time, and more importantly for Nico, the Winter Solstice. The only time his father was allowed on Olympus and Nico had promised Percy that he'd come and visit. He wondered how best report on his progress to Hades. He had found the most likely place that the object was hidden; he got past Fluffy so often that it was no longer a challenge, but he had no idea what else other than the <em>Devil's Snare<em> would be in his way. Asking Hermione about the plant had been easy, she was more preoccupied about Flamel. He needed fire, or light. He had tried with his sacrifice bottle already, but it wasn't strong enough. He needed an Apollo or Hephaestus kid, or their parent, to help. Another reason to visit Olympus. He also wished to consult his father about the weird undead feelings he kept getting around Harry, Quirrel and now the corridor on the seventh floor.

Malfoy had been teasing Harry and Nico about having no family (he'd finally learnt about Nico's mother and sister), so Nico was in a hurry to get gone before he ended up actually killing the boy. The only reason he hadn't done so was because Malfoy always made sure there were plenty of witnesses around when they met, and Hades had made him swear not to do anything rash. But Nico's self control was slipping. He spent a lot more time than would be deemed healthy plotting ways to get Draco alone to give him a piece of his mind (and sword).

He was just leaving the common room when his path was blocked by none other than Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott. It seemed that Draco had rustled up most of the Slytherin first years to take him on, as Parkinson and Blaise appeared from behind, cutting him off. This didn't come as a surprise; Nico had been expecting a confrontation sooner or later. He had just assumed that it would be him to make to first move, not Draco.

"What's all this then, Malfoy?"

"You think you're sooo special because the ghosts fear you and you've got the poltergeist's protection. But you're a traitor to this House, and we don't like _traitors_."

Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles restlessly. Nico gripped his sword tightly and held onto his wand with the other hand. He didn't know how to block spells and his sword would be next to useless if they started using wands. He knew the thugs preferred the more physical approach, and if they tried that, Nico was going to give them a nasty surprise. He subtly began gathering shadows behind his opponents.

"Traitor?" Nico asked warily. He kept his eyes trained on Crabbe and Goyle. They seemed the most likely to attack, the others were there in case he ran. He snorted mentally. The Son of Hades was _not_ a coward.

"You're friends with the Mudblood, Granger." Draco sneered. This didn't clear Nico's confusion.

"What's a Mudblood? and why're you so concerned about who _my_ friends are?" He demanded, eyes narrowed. He would be friendly with whomever he liked, thank you very much.

Draco opened his mouth but his answer was swallowed by an enormous roar. Nico paled and he noticed an uncertain expression on Malfoy's face. This wasn't expected.

With a loud bellow, a Minotaur rounded the corner. The eleven year old wizards scattered and Nico drew his sword.

"Come on then you overgrown mozzarella maker! Bring it!" Nico shouted, making sure that he had the monster's full attention. His fellow Slytherins were cowering in a corner. So much for being tough guys.

The Minotaur gave an enraged cry and charged. Nico held his ground, waiting for the right moment and jumped clear, slashing his blade as he did. He missed the neck, catching the horns ad severing them clean from the skull. The bull careened towards the end of the hall before skidding to a halt. Nico remembered that Percy had killed it with a jab under the ribs, but the idea of getting that close to the animal wasn't appealing. He was racking his brains wildly for the bodybind curse that Malfoy had been perfecting. He hadn't seen the spell performed properly and he was sceptical that it would work but still...

"PERTRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

The Minotaur stopped, then shook its head and broke free. Nico shot the spell again, and again and finally succeeded in incapacitating the creature just long enough to get a good thrust under the diaphragm. The beast howled and thrashed, but Nico kept the sword embedded, holding on until the monster finally collapsed, and turned to dust.

Nico looked over at the Slytherins. Well, Slytherin. Malfoy was whimpering in a corner, his friends had vanished. Allowing his powers to flow, Nico gathered the shadows around the terrified boy and solidified them, hoisting him up against the wall and pinning him so there was no escape.

"You, you just...you..."

"You didn't see anything. I was never here. The bullman was never here, _do you hear me_?" Nico was breathing hard, adrenalin still pumping through his system. He hadn't forgotten the taunts about his family and friends, and he was _really_ enjoying seeing Malfoy cower in fear.

"But you..." Nico slammed him against the wall again.

"I won't let you go until you _swear_ to me, on the River Styx, that you will reveal _nothing_ of what just happened. _Understand?_"

"River w-what?"

"Swear it to me!" Nico yelled, his temper finally getting the better of him, he towered over the eleven year old and levelled his sword to his throat.

"I swear, p-please don't kill me!" the end of the sentence ended in a very unbecoming squeak and Nico smirked in triumph. He turned and began walking away, waving for the shadows to drop their prey. He heard Draco fall to the floor with a satisfying thump.

"We'll get you one day, di Angelo! That giant cow won't always be there to save you!" Malfoy called as Nico turned the corner. Nico heard him scramble up and enter the common room. Alone at last, he melted into the shadows, not staying to find out what his punishment would be for saving the stupid boy's skin.

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><p><strong>So how was that? Was the Minotaur too much? Or Zeus' temper tantrum?<strong>

**The next chapter will be what happens in the hols. I know there won't be much Potterverse, but it'll have important bits for the story in it.**

**Please Review, it makes me so happy!**

**Swiss**

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><p><strong>GinjaNinja01: Thanks, and Nico's thirteen, but the Mist makes him appear eleven to avoid all the questions about his age.<strong>

**I am the son of Lord Zeus, MysteriousWish: thank you, I'm updating once a day until I catch up with my editing or I finish the book!**

**Peridot15: that's the plan!**

**azk099: Wow, I'm flattered that you compare my writing to them, you're so kind! and yep as i said, i'm going to update once a day...I'm trying to pace myself but its hard!**

**Cookie05: I hope the confrontation was good, even if it wasn't hugely insulting on Malfoy's part**

**yarra, obsessivegirl73: I'm glad you approve of my choice of House, even if I made him miserable (sorry Nico)**

**Peppymint: yeah, Nico's hardly gonna let the Gryffindors have all the fun with Voldemort. He can sense Horcruxes and stuff so yeah...**

**superawesomejennifer-thatme: Thanks! It's good to know that I haven't lost my mastery of written English. Dumbledore will work it out first I think, then Hermione, but Ron and Harry probably won't have a clue. I don't know when I plan on Nico telling. It depends on how I envisage the fourth book playing out. Then again, it could be sooner. But I don't want to get ahead of myself, so I'm keeping things open**

**Dragonsareawesome: They probably won't take it well, especially if they catch him doing a summons *starts planning evilly***

**Konekoko: yay! thanks, i do get nervous that i can't keep delivering, I glad it's not the case.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, another great response!**

**Thank you to yarra, I am the Son of Lord Zeus, superawesomejennifer-thatme, obsessivegirl73, up date, Wolftease, silvertrident, ForbiddenForest, DragonsAreAwesome, i-luv-jazz-hale, Cookie05, Peridot15, happygoluckyfull, snowflake13300, Black Shadow Tigress, SGWLESSIUT, Mysterious Ticking Noise, anonymousfan for their reviews, and of course to everyone who put this on alert.**

**As before, I've put replies at the bottom of the page**

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><p>Arriving at Camp Halfblood, Nico realised that it was just about breakfast time, whereas his body clock was telling him he should start thinking about lunch. Mrs O'Leary had gone to sleep on his bed and he was tempted to do the same. Annabeth was jabbering on about the construction work for Olympus when a phrase caught his attention.<p>

"...and I really wanted to honour every famous demigod, I mean of course there are the traditional ones, Theseus, Heracles and the like, but there are lesser known ones like Flamel..."

"Flamel?"

"Nicholas Flamel, Son of Athena, blessed of Hecate and inventor of the Philosopher's Stone? He's still alive you know...Bit too old to fight monsters at six hundred and sixty seven but..."

Nico's mind was reeling. He remembered his father saying that it was a son of Athena who had invented what he sought. He hadn't realised that the man was still living... This quest would kill two birds with one stone for Hades. He would have an immortality bringing-object destroyed and receive the soul of the mortal that had made it. He interrogated Annabeth for everything she knew about this _Philosopher's Stone_. It definetly fit the description, and the fact it could turn metal to gold was another insult it's creator would have to answer for.

He entered his cabin, deep in thought and was startled to find he had a visitor.

"Father."

"Nico, what news of your quest? I expected it completed by now."

"The Stone has multiple defences, I have tamed the three headed dog, and I know how to pass the plant. I cannot say for the following challenges."

Noticing that his father looked quite unimpressed, Nico hastened to recount about the strange feelings he got around the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Hum, perhaps you are not as incompetent as I thought; it is possible that you are detecting pieces of broken soul or a mortal who escaped Thanantos, like Daedalus. However I can think of only one who would be at that school. If that fiend Riddle is in the castle, then it is paramount that you reach the stone before him. You must only confront that man once you have completed your quest, do you hear me!"

"Yes Father"

"Good. I wish for your presence on Olympus for the council. Don't be late."

And with that, he departed. Nico stood, shocked. Riddle was in the school and he wanted the Stone. He _needed_ to speak with the Hephaestus cabin and find a kid from Hecate.

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><p>Talking to the children of the forge, fire and blacksmith god proved useless, as they seemed to think that they were cursed since Beckendorf's death. Trying not to lose heart, Nico quickly moved onto the Hecate cabin. He was met by a young girl he'd seen around but never spoken to.<p>

"How do you kill a piece of soul?" Nico asked, bluntly. The girl's face darkened.

"A piece of soul? This is dark magic...but the answer is obvious. You won't be able to _kill_ it exactly because it can't be slain, only sent back to where it came from." She spoke in a soft sing-song voice and her words were almost _lyrical. _Like a magical chant would be.

"The Underworld?" Nico guessed.

"Every being alive today has had to have passed though the Lethe." The girl replied. Nico took this as an affirmative. He relaxed; he could send the pieces of souls directly to Hades easily enough.

"I need to be able to shadow travel through enchantments. Any ideas?"

"What will you give me in return?" Nico scowled. He needed the help, but if he couldn't deliver...

"What do you want?" he hedged. The girl's face twisted into a look of pure loathing.

"I know you can sense the missing pieces of dear old Voldy's soul. That man killed my father. I want revenge. I want... to destroy a Horcrux."

Nico found this quite reasonable. Most people would want more, and from what he understood there were plenty of pieces to go around. He agreed and the girl held out a small black marble.

"You know that those blessed by my mother can apparate? Well, this sort of does that, only it's more powerful. It's made from the dust of the three Realms. Crush it and turn on the spot while visualising where you want to go and it will take you there. They are very rare, so don't go using it lightly."

Nico took the tiny sphere. It looked similar to the pearls Percy'd said he'd used when he went to the Underworld in search of his mother, except this one was coal black.

"One last thing, do you know how to summon fire?"

"Have you been gifted by the Lady Hecate, or not?" asked the girl curiously. Nico blinked. Of course. The traps were designed by wizards, and there would always be a way of getting past them in case the owner wanted it moved again. You never hide something in such a way it would be unobtainable, and the person sent to retrieve (or steal) the stone would logically be a wizard, so all he needed was the right spell. How could he not have seen this before?

Nico was itching to see if he was right, but knew he couldn't go back without raising suspicions. Besides, his father had requested his presence on Olympus, and he wasn't in a position to refuse.

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><p>Artemis had arrived early for the council meeting, leaving her hunters at camp. The traditional Capture the Flag was being organised by Percy, and he had convinced Nico to take part. He stood next to his cousin and Annabeth on Zeus' fist and surveyed the troops. This was his first time taking part and according to the Son of the sea god, it was the best game ever. The entire Athena cabin was planning their socks off, and with good reason, the Hunters had taken an appalling lead in recent years. The Apollo cabin was nervously waiting on the hilltop, bows at the ready. The Ares cabin made up the attacking force, while the Hephaestus demigods were feverishly trying to fix the haywire dragon.<p>

Hecate's sons and daughters were muttering spells to mount a defence. Nobody knew the allegiance of the Nemesis demigods, because Percy's team grossly outnumbered the Huntresses, despite the fact many campers were away for the winter.

The conch horn sounded, and the Ares kids charged for the river.

The battle was in full swing, the dragon was an interesting twist, as it would randomly attack people in the vicinity, hunter or hero. Annabeth and her siblings had fanned out, ignoring the battle and going straight for the flag. They had yet to return. The Hermes and Hephaestus cabins had set up traps for the Hunters as they advanced, but the maidens were relentless. Percy stuck by Nico for most of the game; he kept peppering him with questions about this new school. Nico replied as best he could while slashing, ducking and generally trying not to get killed. It was the most amount of talking he'd done in a long time. Percy seemed really impressed and insisted Nico show him some magic later. They had retreated back to the flag and were now on "guard duty". Suddenly, the rest of the battle sounded really far away, as if the two demigods were suddenly inside a giant bubble. With what must have been exhausting magic, the Hecate cabin had come up with a spell that meant only two immortals could be inside their shields at any one time. Despite the short respite, Nico and Percy were soon battling to defend the flag. Their hopes for victory rested with Annabeth, who _still _was nowhere to be found. Percy was backing his opponent up and...

The conch horn blew for the end of the game. Nico nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Turning around he saw that their standard was missing, they'd lost.

"That has to be the longest the Camp has held us off in a while." Nico's opponent sounded impressed.

"What happened exactly?" asked Percy confused. He was still trying to work out how they'd gotten the flag when it had been behind them the whole time.

"You backed your girl out of the protective circle, Kelp head, and Thalia snuck in wearing Annabeth's hat. Right?" Nico replied.

"Boys are so stupid" The other Huntress sniffed.

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><p>The council of the gods was confrontational, to say the least. From the start Zeus made it <em>quite clear<em> that he didn't approve of Nico gaining more powers. Hecate and his Father had protested that they were a necessity for him to complete his quest and argued that the blessing would be withdrawn once it had been completed. Zeus seemed satisfied with that, but was still angry that Hades had gone ahead without consulting him. The Lord of the Dead was of course angry at his little brother's interference with _his_ affairs and things pretty much escalated from there on in. From the demigod's point of view, attending the meeting was pointless. He'd spent most of the time being stared at, argued about, or performing spells under the Godess of Witchcraft's critical eye.

Nico was surprised on the 25th to find an owl waiting for him outside of his cabin, a giant parcel wrapped tied to its foot. A daughter of Athena scowled at him, obviously disapproving of the way their sacred bird was being treated. Nico ignored her and cut away the gift. Unwrapping the strange delivery, Nico was met with a sparkly black jumper with a golden N on the front. A note from Ron apologised for his mum's knitting and said that he hoped the owl had found him ok. He also stated that the search for Nicholas Flamel hadn't turned anything up yet, but they were still looking. Nico was touched by Ron's mum's generosity, despite that fact he couldn't ever wear the garment. It seemed that the Mist had been doing its job; the jumper was a good couple of inches too small. Nico'd given the Gryffindors each a box of sweets that he'd ordered via Malfoy's _Daily Prophet_ (well it wasn't as if _he_ needed it was it? Draco got so many sweets from home it was astonishing he wasn't the size of Mr. D)

The rest of the holiday Nico spent catching up with old friends and some Ghost King duties that had accumulated while he was absent (honestly you leave them on their own for three months...)

He didn't bother with the train; he travelled directly to the forest and arrived just in time for the feast. He didn't get a chance to talk to his friends, so ate mostly in silence; apart from the few glares he shot at Malfoy.

The next day, Nico was leaving the hall after breakfast when Harry made signal for him to follow. Nico did, and found himself in a room looking into a mirror. Harry left him there, saying that Dumbledore didn't approve, but that he felt Nico deserved to look before the mirror was moved. The image in the glass changed and Nico stared. His mother and father stood behind him, looking at him proudly, while his sister held his hand. This was the first time Nico had seen Maria di Angelo like this and he gazed at her face longingly.

He heard a small cough behind him. Turning around Nico was taken aback to see Professor Dumbledore standing there.

"I see that Harry brought you here, too. This mirror show's us our dearest wish. Tell me, what do you see?"

Nico remained silent.

"I see myself holding a pair of socks" Dumbledore prompted, but Nico saw deception and that only made him more wary. The old man looked at him expectantly and Nico bristled.

"What's it to you?" Dumbledore didn't reply, and Nico stormed out of the room. The way Dumbledore was scanning him was unnerving. He shook the image of his mother out of his head. He had a quest to concentrate on, he couldn't, no, he _wouldn't _waste his time on a mirror that showed him the impossible.

He saw Harry and Ron again at lunch and explained (almost) everything he knew about Flamel, much to the trio's delight. He didn't give his sources, but the Gryffindors weren't really paying attention to that part; they were more worried about Snape stealing the stone. Nico didn't say that he thought Quirrell was the threat; it wasn't as if Harry were being truly objective where the Potions Master was concerned.

* * *

><p>Nico left it a week before returning to the third floor.<p>

Landing at the bottom of the pit, he felt the plant slither and slide under him. Whipping out his wand, Nico muttered a spell and was delighted to see bluebell flames spring from the tip. The plant loosened its grip and it was only then that Nico realised that onwards meant downwards. Bracing himself for the fall to the floor, he felt his wrist break as he landed. Cursing, he got up and fumbled for the nectar.

His strength regained, Nico hurried to the next chamber. He found himself confronting a locked door that magic wouldn't open, and three broomsticks.

"Oh Styx" He muttered as he realised that he would have to fly to get to the next room. He couldn't see a key, just a lot of metal birds. He should have brought a Hephaestus demigod with him, they would have been fascinated. Suddenly, Nico gasped. These weren't birds, they were keys. He grinned. Perhaps the gods were favouring him after all. Concentrating, he solidified the shadow of each bird, manipulating it, forcing its owner to descend to where he stood. Pinning the helpless creatures to the wall, he searched frantically for the right key. Having found several duds, he found the correct one and smirked.

Fumbling with the lock, he released the birds. Turning around, he found himself walking onto a chessboard. Nico groaned. He'd seen Ron play wizard chess, but he had never played, not even the regular type with static pieces, in his life. He tried crossing the board, fully aware that it wouldn't be that simple. The opposite team drew their swords and barred the way. Nico considered taking them on in battle, but he knew that it would be akin to suicide. There were just too many of them. Deciding that it wouldn't be worth the effort to try and learn as he went; Nico decided to call it a night.

* * *

><p>School and Malfoy prevented Nico from going back. He'd gotten detention for attacking Draco during the Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. The bastard deserved it; he'd insulted Nico's family. Neville, a timid Gryffindor that Nico regularly stuck up for, had tried to help but was out cold within ten seconds. Ron had given Malfoy a black eye. Afterwards, Nico was invited to their common room to celebrate the victory. Most of the House stared, but Ron defended him, recounting all the cool stuff he'd done, so once the Butterbeer started flowing, the Gryffindors soon lost interest. Harry arrived not long after the party started and yanked the three of them away to tell them what he'd just overheard.<p>

Nico was confused to say the least. He didn't doubt what Harry said, but Quirrel was the one with a piece of Riddle inside him, not Snape. Perhaps Quirrel was unaware of his little parasite? That seemed silly. He resolved to watch the two teachers more closely. He stayed up most nights, contemplating his quest. He didn't want to use the marble too early, and something was telling him it just wasn't the right time. He knew that it was his only chance, because there was no way he could become an accomplished chess player before either Quirrel or Snape tried to get past Fluffy. He wished Annabeth was with him. A battle strategist would be the perfect person to get past those statues.

Weeks passed, and Nico still hadn't gone back. He had taken to haunting the seventh floor. He was sure that there was a hidden room there, but it had no door and nothing he did would reveal it to him. Not even the ghosts could tell him anything. He'd become very moody and more solitary, to the point that the Gryffindors no longer talked to him.

One night he was at his usual place when he thought he heard voices. It was McGonagall, dragging Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention! And twenty points from Slytherin, wandering around the castle in the middle of the night, how dare you!" Nico blended into the shadows, watching as the teacher dragged the protesting brat away. He knew that Malfoy wouldn't risk his neck for no reason and sure enough...

"You don't understand Professor, Harry Potter's coming, he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on, I shall see Professor Snape about you Malfoy!"

The voices faded. Nico would have followed, if Filch hadn't tuned up at the end of the corridor and cocked his head, listening. A few minutes later Harry and Hermione appeared at the foot of the staircase leading to the astronomy tower. They were caught red handed. Nico watched, frozen, as they were taken away. He didn't understand. He'd been there the whole time and hadn't seen them go up. Nico was aware of only one thing that could get by him without a trace, but Potter surely wouldn't be so stupid that he'd leave an invisibility device at the top of the tower, after all the effort he'd gone to get up there in the first place? Curious, Nico ascended the steep winding staircase and found a silvery cloak at the top, just below the window. Picking it up and examining it, Nico realised that he couldn't see his fingers or arm. Smirking, he put on the cloak and went back downstairs. He wasn't sure how best to return the garment; he didn't want or need it. If anything, it made him more edgy. He kept looking around, sure that someone would be just around the corner. It was just so obvious that he was there. Deciding that his way was best, Nico took off the cloak; and, stuffing it in his robes, walked into the nearest shadow and travelled back to the dungeons.

Arriving silently in his dormitory, he was surprised to see Malfoy standing there, a smug smile on his face, and Snape looking triumphant. It was clear what the problem was: Nico's bed was empty.

"I told you he snuck out at night professor! Probably off to see those vampire relatives of his!" Malfoy was saying. Nico rolled his eyes. Percy had IM'd him and commented on the "Dracula" look and Nico might have joked that they were related, but it wasn't as if he was being _serious_.

Nico's foot brushed a book beside a night-stand and Snape whipped around, pointing his glowing wand at the intruder. Nico glared back, his eyes were dark with lack of sleep and his mood had gone from worried to paranoid to furious. He allowed his deathly aura to fill the room as he sat down on his bed, staring defiantly at Snape.

"Detention, Mr di Angelo and ten points from Slytherin. And if I ever catch you out again..."

Snape continued his lecture, but Nico was too tired to really concentrate on what he was saying. He had a good mind to sneer at how, despite Snape's dislike of him, a petty school championship was worth more than putting Nico in his place. Ten points would hardly discourage his night time wanderings. Even so, he stopped his nocturnal visits temporarily; he needed to be more careful.

* * *

><p><strong>yeah, the pearl idea's not very original but i needed something that could only be used once and was rare enough for Nico not to just use it immediately. I didn't really want to involve a daughter of Hecate, because they aren't described in the books so it's impossible to gauge just what they're like. I'm going to keep her involvement to a minimum, she's not about to become a major OC.<strong>

**The next chapter's gonna be quite risky plot wise, I'm sure nobody will see it coming (good or bad, you'll have to judge)**

**please review, the response to this fic has been mind blowing!**

**Swiss**

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><p><strong>yarra: I guess I should have written a bit more of a build up instead of the Minotaur just popping up like that. I do have an explanation for it being in the castle though. I hope I improved the flow problems. Thanks!<strong>

**Superawesomejennifer-thatme: Sorry to let you down, but I didn't write this in a day. I had the structure in my head for ages, and then when I found no one had done something similar, I just sort of sat down and started typing. I made sure that I had almost everything in draft form before posting, and I'm still editing.  
><strong>**I'll keep that in mind about Hermione. She _should_ have an element of denial in her logic or something. But knowing her, she won't sleep until she's satisfied she's got an answer.**

**I am the son of Lord Zeus: I find it's the easiest way to keep the character coherent, it difficult enough trying to get the character right without adding an age gap.**

**obsessivegirl73: Weeeell, the _troll_ didn't just get in either...**

**Forbiddenforest: Just so I know, what was wrong, the summary or the title ****(for future reference)****? I'm not mad or anything, I'm just curious. Glad you liked it!**

**Dragonsareawesome: I thought that Stygian Iron was slightly different to celestial bronze, and that the monster only turned to dust after all of the energy sucking. I assumed the blade had to stay in contact for that to happen. If not, I stand corrected.**

**Cookie05: If I told you, it'll ruin the surprise!**

**SGWLESSIUT: **** I've had mixed reviews on Zeus, and I wasn't totally satisfied with it myself... but I'm glad you liked it :)******

****happygoluckyfull: I'm sorry I didn't write more about the Solstice, it just didn't fit.****

**Mysterious ticking noise, anonymousfan: Are non-magical people allowed to visit Hogwarts? I'm reluctant to include others in_ this_ fic because they would be irrelevant to the plot.  
>That's not to say that it won't happen in the futur. I personally would love Percy to meet Malfoy or the Stolls to prank the Weasley twins.<strong>

****up date, Wolftease, silvertrident, ** i-luv-jazz-hale, **Peridot15, snowflake13300, Black Shadow Tigress: Thank you for your reviews, I hope you liked the chapter!********


	5. Chapter 5

**Soooo, probably should have done a heads up, 'cause this is actually the last chapter. I tried to split it, but they were too small, so i guess this is like one and a half chapters long?**

**I'm really nervous because ****in my opinion, ****this is the most important part of a story. The end has to be good even if everything else sucks. But I'm not pressurizing myself. Okay maybe a little.**

**Thank you ****I am the Son of Lord Zeus, ****superawsomejennifer-thatme, ****obsessivegirl73, ****Cookie05, ****yarra, ****konekoko, snowflake13300, happygoluckyfull, Peridot15, Kerrisy Kingsleigh and Kayla for reviewing, and to all of you who put this on alert.**

**Replies for your kind words at the bottom!**

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><p>A few mornings later, Nico received a note:<p>

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall.  
>Prof S. Snape.<em>

As far as Nico could tell, Malfoy had an identical message. He was hoping to get the puny boy alone so Nico could scare the Hades out of him. Who did he think he was, snitching on Nico's nightly ventures like that? It was no business of his! It didn't matter what Bianca had told him, this grudge wasn't going to be so easily forgotten.

He met up with Malfoy, and (to his disappointment,) Harry, Hermione, and strangely, Neville, at eleven as the note said. Nico felt it was pointless to point out that this was actually after curfew, and that they were technically breaking the rules just by serving their punishment. Filch led them across the grounds into the forest. He sounded delighted about whatever they were about to suffer. Nico heard Hagrid call out to them, and allowed himself to relax a bit. Perhaps the task wouldn't be so odious after all.

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with the oaf? Well, think again, boy – it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Neville whimpered and Nico patted him on the back. The Son of Hades wasn't scared of a _forest_, but as Poseidon once said, heroes weren't above fear, and Nico knew that Neville _would_ be a hero, one day.

"The Forest? We can't go in there at night, there are all sorts of things in there, werewolves, I heard." Malfoy sounded really freaked. Nico smirked.

"Not afraid of the bwig, bwad wolf are we Draco?" The pale boy flushed and glared at him. Harry and Hermione only gave a weak smile. Nico was tempted to roll his eyes, it's not like he hadn't faced worse, and besides, the school would be shut down if they let the students be in any serious danger.

They'd reached Hagrid, who was armed with a crossbow and arrows. Filch left them there, complaining about the loss of the old punishments and cackling about all the monsters waiting behind the trees.

"I'm not going into the Forest!" Malfoy protested again.

"Yeh are if yeh want to stay at Hogwarts, yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it." Hagrid replied stoutly.

"But this is servant stuff; it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be given lines to do or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd..."

"_My_ Dad would send me to the Fields for a month if he caught me complaining like a wimp." Nico interrupted. Gods, he hated that boy's _whining!_ Draco opened his mouth, no doubt to deny that he was a wimp, but Hagrid got there first.

"Yeh dad'd tell yeh that's how it is at Hogwarts, Writin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yer thing yeh father'd rather you were expelled, then back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

Draco didn't move, but he glared at Hagrid, furious. The half-giant led them towards the edge of the forest and pointed a something silvery on the ground.

"Look there; see that stuff shining on the ground, that's..."

"Unicorn blood!" Nico gasped, interrupting. He looked up at Hagrid, shocked. "You have to be an extraordinarily good hunter to catch or kill a unicorn, even the..." Realising that he'd almost slipped up, he closed his mouth with an audible snap. Hagrid looked at him blankly, while Hermione looked confused.

"Well, there's one in there hurt bad by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found another dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' fin the poor beast, we might need teh put it outta its misery." Hagrid continued, after a pause.

* * *

><p>They set off; Nico had gone with Hagrid and Harry. That left Hermione, Neville and Fang with Malfoy. It was clear the pale boy had wanted to ask for Nico to be in his group, but Nico had glared at him to make it clear what would happen if that were the case, so Malfoy had asked for Fang instead.<p>

It wasn't long after they split up when Hagrid shoved them up against a tree, and Nico heard the rustling of a cloak somewhere in the darkness. After Hagrid ruled out a unicorn or werewolf, they went on, sticking closely together. Nico gripped his sword underneath his cloak. Absently, he wondered why Malfoy and the other Slytherins hadn't turned him in; surely it was against some school rule or other to carry weapons (other than wands) around. They stopped again, and Hagrid levelled his crossbow.

"Who's there? I warn you - I'm armed!" Hagrid called out.

A centaur detached himself from the blackness, and Hagrid relaxed visibly.

"Oh it's you Ronan, How are yeh?"

He shook the centaurs hand and Nico moved forward to do the same. Ronan looked surprised at how at ease Nico was around him, while Harry was gaping at the horse-man in shock. Nico was a bit put out by his friend's stares. He thought Ronan was being very polite to them, quite a contrast to the Party Ponies that he'd encountered in America. He wondered whether Chiron knew that he had brothers in Great Britain.

Ronan looked up at the heavens and sighed.

"Mars is bright tonight."

Nico didn't like the sound of that. He wanted to ask more, but Hagrid repeated his question and the centaur turned his attention to him. Instead, Nico took the opportunity to return Harry's cloak and distract the young wizard from his ogling.

"Found this up the astronomy tower, just after you left. Yours right?" Harry nodded mutely. He was _still_ staring at the half-man half-horse.

They were led away from the centaur not long after that, Hagrid muttering about how they never gave you a straight answer. Nico was growing aware of something moving in the trees, it was following them. He had just started to warn Hagrid when red sparks shot up from the track in front of them. Hagrid burst through the undergrowth to find the others, leaving Nico and Harry alone. Nico tried to spot the creature stalking them though the gloom and gripped his sword in a vice-like grip. Hagrid came back without incident, but Malfoy had played a prank on Neville while Hermione's back had been turned, so now Nico and Harry would have to go with him, while Hagrid tried to calm Neville down.

They made their way through the forest quickly. Nico made no sound at all as he tracked the unicorn. Harry and Malfoy were like elephants in comparison. The blond boy kept sneering and questioning Nico's judgement as he led the way through the trees.

Exasperated, Nico pointed ahead. There in the clearing, lay the dead unicorn. Nico felt sorry for the beautiful creature. It was like Bessie the ophiotaurus, pure and harmless.

Suddenly Nico heard the rustling noise coming from the other side of the line of trees. A cloaked creature slithered out and began to drink from the unicorn's neck. Malfoy screamed. The thing looked up and Nico heard Draco and Fang flee. That left Harry and Nico. From his left, he heard his friend gasp in pain. Glancing over, he saw Harry clutching his scar, eyes screwed shut. Nico made to draw his sword, only for the thing to raise a wand and he blacked out.

* * *

><p>Coming to, Nico found himself lying in the dirt, paralysed.<p>

"I know what you are, Son of Hades" The thing hissed from somewhere above him. "You have been most troublesome."

Nico glared straight ahead and the thing cackled.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you, once I have regained a body" Suddenly Nico felt as if he were on fire. He was unable to move, unable to scream, as white hot knives pierced every inch of his skin. When the pain stopped, the creature had gone.

After what felt like an eternity, Nico felt warmth return to the tips of his fingers. He had no idea how much time had passed. Whatever had trapped him here hadn't returned, so Nico guessed his demigod blood meant the spell had had a lesser effect on him than it would a normal mortal. Still, his captor had known what he was, so Nico was anxious not to hang around. He struggled to move his frozen limbs, reaching for his pockets. He finally found what he was looking for and departed.

Arriving behind the chess pieces, Nico passed out. Awakening, he wondered absently if Hagrid was looking for him yet. Harry must have known that he wouldn't abandon him, like Malfoy. He spent Hades' knew how long trying to free himself from that curse and he hadn't seen anything remotely like a search party. Luckily, once he had been immobilised, the monster/wizard hadn't bothered to disarm him. The curse had worn off fully while he was unconscious and he stood up, shaking. He was hungry, tired, and now he was trapped under the school where nobody would think to look for him.

Sighing, Nico opened the door to the next challenge. He stopped dead. A troll, much bigger than the one on Halloween, was sitting on the cold flagstone floor. It hadn't noticed him. Drawing his sword, he gathered himself in shadows and glided silently to the door at the end. He didn't feel up to fighting right now, and he didn't have ambrosia to give him strength afterwards.

The next room had a table full of potions, a note and fires blocking both doors. Nico read and reread the poem. He could work out some lines, but he couldn't be sure which bottle would let him move on. He went through every potion lesson, everything that he'd learnt the past year that could help him. He couldn't leave, there was no way he'd be able to come back again. He needed someone smart, someone who could get here _without _Nico leaving...But he had no rainbow and no drachmas! Only the dead would be able to answer his summons here!

Wait...

What was the ghost of Ravenclaw called? The Grey Lady. He wondered if he needed to dig a hole and throw food if she was already out of the Underworld. He settled for tipping a bottle of what he'd already identified as Nettle Wine into a small crack in the floor. He hoped that there weren't too many more challenges, as this was likely to sap the last of his strength. After speaking his traditional summons, the eerie form of a spectre came through the ceiling. Nico allowed himself a satisfied grin as Helena Ravenclaw descended to dine. The lady seemed miffed that she'd been summoned for such trivia, but agreed to help Nico if he released her. He promised immediately. She pointed to the smallest bottle. Nico raised an eyebrow and the ghost nodded. Nico took a sip and shuddered. It was like ice. Steeling himself, he marched through the flames and was pleased to see that he came out the other side alive. The ghost followed him, and Nico made good on his oath, but not before the phantom made him one last request.

"Riddle defiled my mother's diadem, the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, with dark magic a long time ago. Destroy it for me, Son of Hades." Nico nodded and the Gray Lady faded.

* * *

><p>The next chamber was the most confusing. Nico was met by the Mirror of Erised.<p>

Advancing into the room, he saw that it was a dead end. He couldn't see the stone anywhere. Disappointed and slightly scared of how his father would react, Nico gazed into the mirror hoping to find comfort in his mother's gaze.

"WHAT!"

Nico spun around, his sword aloft and saw Quirrel, furious, in the doorway. With a snap of his fingers ropes came and bound him. Nico fell over and landed hard on his side, twisting his ankle. The sword was kicked out of his hand and he felt himself being lifted up and slammed bodily against the wall.

"It was you, you let the Troll and the Minotaur in. You attacked me in the forest..." Nico choked. It was now so blindingly obvious, Nico wondered how he had ever doubted it to be anyone else.

"Indeed." Quirrel sounded amused.

"You know my secret" Nico murmured, almost to himself. He had known it all year and never breathed a word.

"Secret? Hardly, I've met some of your kind before and by the way you flaunted your abilities, it was obvious. Now be quiet, I want to examine the mirror."

Nico was about to open his mouth to demand how the professor knew that Nico didn't already have the stone, but then reconsidered. Drawing attention to himself, especially when he had nothing to bargain with, wasn't a very smart idea.

After what felt like ages, he heard footsteps. Quirrel immediately released him and Nico sprawled on the floor. Harry appeared in the doorway, he looked tired and shaken.

"You!" Harry gasped. His eyes flickered from Nico to Quirrel and back. Nico's mind was racing. Harry couldn't possibly think that he'd betray him like that, did he? He wouldn't fall for Quirrel's stuttering act again? But it seemed that Quirrel had had enough of playing the good guy.

"Me. I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here Potter."

"But, I thought...Snape..."

"Severus? Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrel?"

And then they were off, arguing about who tried to kill who, while Nico was edging around to look in the mirror again. Neither noticed him as he shuffled on the ground. The mirror was the key, he knew it, and if he could just look...if his dearest desire was to find the stone, the Mirror would show him where it was. He twisted his body so he could get a sidelong glance at himself.

This time he didn't see Maria di Angelo smiling at him, he saw himself. His reflection winked and, pulled something from his pocket, grinning. Nico looked at the small red crystal. That didn't explain anything. It was in the Mirror, not anywhere useful! Mirror-Nico winked and tucked it inside his robes.

Nico twisted to look at the arguing pair to see if they had noticed anything and let out a groan of pain. Quirrel whipped around to look at him. Nico lay in the dust and tried not to look threatening. More ropes came and bound him alongside Harry, too tightly to escape.

Harry looked at him suspiciously. "You were helping him?"

"Not if Hades froze over." Nico replied, his voice strained with effort. He was trying to loosen his bindings, just a bit. He felt the ropes dig in, but ignored the pain.

"But, you want the stone too; you must be working for him"

"Yeah and that's why I'm all tied up here, while turban dude is looking in the mirror." Nico snapped.

"Doesn't mean anything. You helped him here, and he went back on whatever promise he made to you."

"I want the Stone destroyed nitwit! Its existence insults my family!"

Harry fell silent when he heard that, probably trying to work out the meaning of Nico's words.

"Use the boy... Use the boy..." That voice wasn't Quirrel's. The ropes binding Harry fell away and he walked forward, trembling. Nico began to redouble his efforts. He had to escape before they found out...

"What do you see?" _Please lie Harry, please lie..._

"I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore, I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Nico almost groaned aloud. Harry was a terrible liar. Quirrel cursed pushed Harry aside. He saw the sword on the floor and looked at Nico, calculating. Too late, the voice was hissing again.

"He lies... He lies..." Harry jumped forward and tried to toss Nico the sword. It clattered to the ground about a metre to his left. By this time Quirrel had pulled Harry up by his sleeve, sneering at the pathetic attempt to save his friend.

"Tell the truth! What do you see!"

"Let me speak to him...face to face..."

Quirrel began to unwinding the turban, eyes focused on Harry. Nico felt his stomach clench as the professor turned around to reveal a face embedded in the back of his skull

"Riddle..." Nico breathed. The face grinned coldy.

"Stupid boy, if you father really wanted the stone gone, he should come himself, not send a puny Halfling!" With a wave of Quirrel's hand Nico was pushed violently against the wall and Voldemort turned back to Harry

"Harry Potter..."

Nico squirmed, trying to reach his sword; it was just by his leg... pain shot up his limb as his ankle moved.

"See what I've become? See what I must do to survive..."

The sword was now right beside him, but it was blade first. Nico seized the tip, ignoring any distractions as the blade cut his palm. His hand was slick with blood and he almost lost his grip.

"Don't be a fool... Better save your own life and join me...or you'll meet the same end as your parents...They died begging me for mercy."

"LIAR!"

"How touching, I always value bravery... Yes boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight..."

Nico tried to block out the emotional torture that Tom was inflicting on Harry; he had just about cut the first rope...

"Now give me the stone unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!"

"Leave him, Riddle!" Nico yelled, still slumped on the floor, bindings tight. "I have the stone." There was a moment of silence before all Hades broke loose.

"What? Nico, NO!"

"Give it..."

"Never!"

"Kill him!"

Quirrel turned and lunged for Nico, but Harry seized his arm. Quirrel screamed. Looking at his hand, Nico saw that it was burned, red and angry. He raised himself and brandished his sword, shrugging off the ropes. He leapt forward to engage and distract the former teacher, aiming his blade at the neck. Quirrel dodged and threw a curse at him. Nico fell back, dazed. Looking up, he saw Harry grab Quirrel's face, his own features distorted in agony. They were at a stalemate. Neither could move for the pain. Feeling as if air had become treacle, Nico raised his sword and plunged it into Quirrel's back. Voldemort's eyes widened.

"Sssson of Ha..." the face choked as it died. Nico looked at Harry anxiously, and was half-relieved, half-worried to see that the younger boy had passed out. He plucked the stone from his pocket and waited.

Professor Dumbledore arrived sooner than Nico expected (he had guessed Ron and Hermione had accompanied Harry and seeing as they weren't there...) The headmaster stopped dead when he saw Nico holding the stone, sitting next to Harry's unconscious body. Nico began to protest his innocence, but Dumbledore just x-rayed him over his half moon spectacles. He didn't look upset; on the contrary, he looked_ pleased._

"I have to destroy the Stone." Nico told him simply. The old wizard nodded as stood aside to let him pass. Nico used the last vestiges of his strength just to get to his dormitory. It was empty and Nico realised that he'd missed the exams. His classmates were all soaking up the rays outside. Last nail in the coffin for a return next year. After eating the last of his ambrosia, Nico finally shadow travelled to the Underworld.

* * *

><p>"Harry!" Hermione yelled as they were allowed into the hospital wing at last.<p>

"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to... Dumbledore was so worried..."

"_I_ knew you'd make it" Nico told him. The other two glared at him. Ron broke the silence, demanding answers and Harry started telling the story of the confrontation. Ron and Hermione had been desperate to know, but Nico hadn't given anything away. In fact, as far as they were concerned, he was never there.

Harry got to the part about Nico and looked at the boy questioningly. Nico shrugged, uncomfortable. He wasn't entirely sure of the conclusion Harry had come to. After all, he_ had_ accused him of working for Riddle down in the dungeons. Harry continued with his tale, not leaving anything out, all the time staring at Nico who was looking anywhere except the bed.

"And Dumbledore said that Nico's father destroyed the stone."

Ron and Hermione gaped, the latter glaring at the Slytherin.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nico shrugged.

"So the stone's gone?" Ron asked, and Nico snorted.

"That's what he said."

"Dumbledore thinks that, what was it? – "to the well organized mind, death is just the next great adventure"."

Nico nodded. It would be good if mortals could learn to not fear death, but embrace it as an inevitability of being human. He still wasn't sure if Dumbledore had worked out his secret or was just pleased that he'd found a Slytherin who wasn't a snob only looking after number one.

Madam Pomfrey had ordered them out soon after that, and Nico had to hurry away. Dumbledore had given him permission to take the exams late; a favour for service's rendered. He now had to condense an entire year's worth of learning into two intense days of exams.

* * *

><p>Nico was very happy when he went to the End of Year feast. Hecate had arranged that he would indeed be returning next year. (Zeus had yet to be informed but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.) The Lord of the Dead had been pleased with Nico's work, and approved when Nico requested that he be allowed to hunt down Horcruxes. One ghost and one cheater were now awaiting judgement...The only downer was that the piece of soul that was inside Quirrel had yet to turn up, and Hades knew that could only be a bad thing.<p>

Although part of Slytherin House, Nico didn't approve of the silver and green decorations lining the Great Hall. The way his "family" had acted since learning they'd won...well, Nico was glad he wouldn't have to look at any of their smug faces for a good couple of months. It was only a petty school championship, it didn't_ mean _anything. After the announcements (in which he didn't figure, he was never there, right?) Draco's expression had been priceless. Honestly, Nico had really wanted to get a photo so he could laugh at his horrified expression over the summer.

He sat with Harry and Ron again on the train home, but this time they were joined with Hermione and Neville. All the boys were trying to convince Nico to change House or kip in their dormitory next year. Nico turned them down on the pretext that he wouldn't be able to keep Malfoy in his place, and where would the fun in that be?

* * *

><p>Arriving through the barrier, Nico immediately recognised Ron's family, all ginger. His sister squealed at the sight of the famous Harry Potter. To his surprise, Mrs Weasley acted motherly to both him and Harry, even if it was slightly awkward on Nico's part.<p>

He was relieved to spot Percy and Annabeth coming towards him through the crowd. He wasn't sure what he'd expected. He was suddenly plagued by a vision of Hades waiting in Kings Cross and winced. The last thing he wanted was for his dad to scare the living Hades out of his new friends.

"You okay Zombie dude? Mrs O'Leary's waiting to take us back to camp." Percy said.

"Zombie dude?" Ron asked raising an eyebrow, while Nico just rolled his eyes.

Just then, he noticed a rather beefy looking man standing next to a very bony lady accompanied by what Nico had at first assumed was a pig in clothing. They were all looking at Harry, terrified.

"They yours?" Nico asked jerking his thumb in their direction. Harry nodded.

"I hope you - er - have a good holiday..." Hermione wished him uncertainly. Surprisingly, a slow grin was forming on Harry's features.

"Oh, I will. They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

Nico watched as Harry followed his aunt and uncle out. At least one of them would be having a good summer. Nico had a few summonings to do if he was going to find Ravenclaw's missing tiara _and_ he wanted to know more about that scar.

He shook hands with the remaining Gryffindors and allowed his cousin to lead him away.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's it. Thank you all for sticking with me I hope it was worth it! I dithered about Voldy knowing (to know or not to know...) but he seemed more threatening this way.<strong>

**This whole thing came about after reading _Flight of Death_ by Winters of Despair.**

**Just so you know: I'm going away for a week quite soon so I may not publish the next one for a while. Hope you'll be patient and wait for me!**

**Please review**

**Swiss**

**ps**

**I have a couple of ideas for the next book ( a sequel seemed very popular) but I have a couple of questions:**

**Should Dumbledore know Nico's secret yet (because it's not certain he does)  
>More Greek monsterssword fights? Less? About the same?  
><strong>**Eventually Romance? Bearing in mind Nico is two years older than the other main characters**

**Further along to line but still relevant for coherancy and plot lines (if I get that far):**

**Should the campers visit for the Triwizard tournament (even if they aren't wizards)? And should the trio know his secret before then?**

**Any requests or ideas for story lines are welcome, and I'll see what I can cook up!**

* * *

><p><strong>I am the Son of Lord Zeus: Thanks, glad you liked it. And yeah, if Malfoy met the gods... shudder<strong>

**superawsomejennifer-thatme: I never thought for Nico to consult Annabeth, the main problem being that there was no rainbow for an IM. And I could never get bored of what you say, it's a relief to read because I'm always freaking that everyone'll hate it.**

**obsessivegirl73: Hmm, well I was thinking along the lines of one monster to kill Harry, another (more powerful) one to deal with Nico. Still, glad you liked it!**

**Cookie05: exactly! But as you can see it happened just as you thought (how could I resist?) but I hope the plot line wasn't that obvious!**

**yarra: haha Nico sparkling...hilarious. It _was_ a pathetic attempt of Snape's to assert his authority, but he had to try.**

**konekoko, snowflake13300, happygoluckyfull, Peridot15, Kerrisy Kingsleigh, Kayla: That's a relief, thanks! hope you like the new (and last *sniff*) chapter!**


	6. author's note

**I'm back!**

**gosh has it really been six months? ... oops**

**thank you to everyone who reviewed/alerted/favourited this fic, it's amazing to hear your opinions!**

**well this Author's note is just to say that the looooooong awaited sequel ****_Nico di Angelo and the Chamber of Secrets_ ****is out, for all those interested.**

**hope I haven't left it too late**

**Swiss**


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